The financial industry has undergone significant changes in the last ten years. In addition to traditional banks, trust companies and other conventional financial institutions, many new financial institutions and categories of financial institutions have been created. These many financial institutions have accordingly become increasingly competitive in acquiring clients and make significant efforts to acquire new clients from other, competitor, institutions. Significant marketing efforts, discounts, service bundles and other incentives are employed by financial institutions to attract new clients, often from their competitors.
At the same time as the financial institutions have become more competitive in acquiring clients, the array of services that financial institutions offer their clients has increased and can include a bewildering array of services, including automated payments of utility company and other bills of the client, investment and money management services, automated transfers between accounts and/or institutions, etc. Also, financial institutions have introduced new services for their existing clients in efforts to retain those clients, increase profitability and/or expand the range of services offered by the financial institution. Further, many non-financial service providers have established interfaces to financial institutions which allow them to directly debit or credit their client's accounts with the financial institution.
As a consequence of the wide array of services available to the clients of financial institutions, a client may have a great deal of difficulty and/or inconvenience in transferring their existing services, including pre-authorized payments, credits and even their payroll, from an existing account to a new account, at the same financial institution or at a new institution. Thus, despite the above-mentioned significant efforts expended by a financial institution to attract new clients and/or retain existing clients, the inconvenience and effort required by the client to transfer and/or reestablish existing services for a new account can be such a significant disincentive that the client will not establish the new account and/or move to a new financial institution.
It is desired to have a system and method for assisting a client to transfer and/or reestablish the financial services using a first account at a financial institution to a second account at a financial institution, whether the same financial institution or a new financial institution.